Ruth Update: Something STILL Isn’t Right . . . But we may be on to something.

On December 29th I shared that something is going on with my mom. Blood work was underway and an abdominal ultrasound was scheduled due to daily vomiting episodes and a sudden drop in weight. The ultrasound and blood work results came back two weeks ago and were negative for any abnormalities. Mom’s gall bladder was suspected, but that appears to be normal. So, mom had an abdominal CT scan last Monday which came back with normal results, and again, no answers. Nada. Nothing. Mom’s doctor, mom’s nurse & caregiver — nobody has any idea what’s going on with her.

Currently, mom has been vomiting most every day since December 23rd. It usually happens in the evenings or middle of the night, and there were traces of what looked like blood two nights ago.

Mom’s doctor wants her to come in on Friday for more blood work and x-rays and then most likely an “upper GI” would be the next course of action. The triage nurse at my mom’s doctor’s office has been so helpful and explained that we’ve (most likely) ruled out any big problems, and the gastrointestinal examination would be looking for ulcers and inflammation of the stomach and esophagus.

So round and round we go trying to get to the bottom of this mystery!

And then, a little bit later and while writing this update, I got a call from mom’s caregiver saying there’s been a discovery! You see, Mom wears dentures, and her dentures go in a cup of Efferdent every night, and there is evidence that mom may either be drinking her denture water, eating her denture tablets or both. Could it be that mom is waking up in the middle of the night, thirsty and drinking her denture water? While this sounds pretty gross and the Efferdent is toxic, I hope this is the culprit so we can solve this mystery and so mom can feel better. It would also be such an easy fix and avoiding more tests would be nice. So we’re holding off on more testing, and beginning tonight, all Effordent has been removed from her room. We’re on the wait and see plan. With our fingers crossed.

Whatever the outcome, there will now be a glass of water by my mom’s bed at night . Poor thing.

2 thoughts on “Ruth Update: Something STILL Isn’t Right . . . But we may be on to something.”

So sorry to hear she has not been doing well. It would really be something if it was the efferdent water or pills. If this is true, it is to bad she had to go thru all the tests. Hope they have found the culprit. Have you been here lately? I know you said you wouldn’t be coming back till Jan or Feb. I do plan to get out to see her in the next couple weeks.
I am all moved and beginning to get settled in my new home. It really is quite cozy.
Hope all is well with you. Helen Kay

Hi Helen Kay ~ I sure hope this is it too! Hopefully we’ll hear good news soon. I haven’t been there since September and I feel way overdue. I had planned on going in February, but because of what’s been going on with mom, I’ve kind of been on hold and waiting to see what’s next. I’m so glad you’re all moved in and cozy in your new home. : ) All is well with me . . . . hoping the same for you.